Alabama Diabetic Eye Disease & Problems: Help to Avoid Them

“We have to work especially hard this year to help patients with diabetes avoid diabetic eye disease and problems,” stressed Alabama Eye & Cataract Center Ophthalmologist Tyler Hall, M.D. “Current data suggests there are some 26 million people with diabetes in the U.S. and almost 8 million people over 40 years of age with diabetic retinopathy. While we can’t cure diabetic eye disease, annual eye exams for diabetes patients can help slow the progression of the disease and diabetic eye problems,” said Dr. Hall.

The vision loss from diabetic retinopathy can be prevented if it's caught early and treated in time. More than one third of those diagnosed with diabetes do not adhere to vision care guidelines recommending a dilated eye exam every year. The longer a person has diabetes, the greater his or her risk for developing diabetic retinopathy.

In addition to having regular eye examinations and testing at the direction of your eye doctor, patients can help to reduce the risk of developing diabetic eye disease  by not smoking, controlling their cholesterol and lipid profile and blood pressure, as well as working to eat a heart-healthy diet rich in fish, fruit and green leafy vegetables and exercising. 

If you or someone you know has diabetes or even elevated blood sugar levels they should work to prevent diabetic eye disease and problems with regular eye exams by calling Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visiting Alabama Eye & Cataract Center or facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.

Michelson Laser Vision, 327 Summit Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35243 and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, 1201 11th Avenue S, Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205 are leading eye care centers in Birmingham. 

Avoid Halloween Contact Lens Problems

“Birmingham Halloween celebrants should use avoid contact lens and eye health problems by remembering that contact lenses are a medical device and require proper prescription and fitting-even decorative non corrective contact lenses,” stressed Corneal Specialist Tyler Hall, M.D. Dr. Hall further explained, “Even someone with perfect vision would still require an eye exam and a prescription in order to wear any kind of contacts, including cosmetic lenses. Unfortunately each year we see the result of the Halloween participants who wish to change their eye color or make their eyes look devilish by using over-the-counter, decorative contact lenses. While this can be a good source of Halloween fun, it can also lead to serious vision-threatening problems.”

According to the Food and Drug Administration, all contact lenses are regulated medical devices that require a prescription and proper fitting by an eye-care professional. Some websites advertise decorative contacts as if they were fashion accessories or toys with fanciful, playful packaging in order to attract teens and young adults, especially girls. The problem is not that people use decorative, noncorrective lenses-sometimes called Plano-or zero-powered lenses, but that they buy the devices without a prescription through unlicensed vendors on the Internet or at flea markets and specialty shops.

The buyer of these over-the-counter contact lenses faces a huge risk including scratched corneas, pink eye and more serious types of blinding infection as a result of a corneal ulcer.

In 2005, a federal law was passed that classified all contact lenses as medical devices and restricted their distribution to licensed eye-care professionals. Illegal sale of contacts can result in civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation.

The safe and effective use of contact lenses-whether decorative or not-requires proper fitting and education about their care to prevent the potential for serious eye  problems from becoming a reality. If you or a friend would like to learn more about contact lenses of any type including decorative contacts please call Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye& Cataract Center or facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.

Michelson Laser Vision are leading Birmingham eye care practices with offices at 327 Summit Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35243, and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, 1201 11th Avenue S., Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205.

LASIK: Hidden Costs at Birmingham Discount Centers

Birmingham LASIK patients are often surprised by the hidden costs they find when seeking LASIK at discount centers. “LASIK costs are affordable for almost anyone who wishes to minimize their dependence on or even eliminate the need for eyeglasses and contact lenses to see at distance. BUT-there are many patients who shop for the best price for LASIK and end up getting an unpleasant surprise,” noted Melindi Morton of Michelson Laser Vision.  “The most reputable, trusted and best LASIK surgeons quote LASIK prices that are comprehensive fees-that is they include everything you need to get the best results. Typically these fees include all evaluations, examinations, consultations and follow up care-regardless of your prescription,” continued Ms. Morton.

Some discount LASIK centers in and around Birmingham will offer the lure of the best price for LASIK and often quote a price for LASIK that is right on the edge of being deceptive. Often they use the lowest price to draw you in for an evaluation and get you excited about the possibility of having LASIK. Then they start including “add ons” and present you with hidden costs and fees. These hidden costs and fees add on an additional fee for your prescription that was not within the advertised range. The low LASIK price can add an extra hidden cost of LASIK for astigmatism. The best LASIK price they present to get you in may require an add on additional hidden cost for follow up care. It may include an extra hidden cost for custom wavefront LASIK or hidden cost for enhancements-and on and on. Hidden costs and fees for LASIK are somewhat typical of the sales and marketing practices of certain discount centers. LASIK is surgery. “You should choose a LASIK surgeon based on their reputation as recommended by friends and relatives and NOT based on the best price. Choosing a LASIK surgeon based on the best price alone could set you up for a number of hidden costs you can’t even understand and end up costing you more in the long run,” summarized Ms. Morton.

If you or someone you know has a question about LASIK or would like to schedule a Free LASIK Consultation please feel free to call Michelson Laser Vision at 205-969-8100, visit Michelson Laser Vision or facebook.com/michelsonlaservision to schedule an appointment.

Michelson Laser Vision are leading Birmingham eye care practices with offices at 327 Summit Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35243, and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, 1201 11th Avenue S., Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205.

Physics May Help AMD Vision Problems

Principles and techniques of optical physics may help patients with vision problems from AMD,” said Birmingham Eye Doctor Dr. Marc Michelson of Alabama Eye & Cataract Center.”Sometimes even with quick diagnosis and treatment of macular degeneration, patients with AMD experience some compromise in functioning due to optical distortion problems. The application of optical physics may let us help with this disturbing distortion and twisting of their vision resulting from macular degeneration,” explained Dr. Michelson.

Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn described a potential application of what is a dynamic “translator” for the particular distortion a patient experiences either in handheld computers or an optical corrective lens. “We routinely use the Amsler Grid, a graph-paper-like pattern to diagnose AMD-Dr. Kohn suggested that the Amsler grid could also be used to develop an optical correction,” said Dr. Michelson. When people with healthy eyes look at the Amsler Grid, they see its straight horizontal and vertical lines, with a dot at center.  Patients with AMD, however, often perceive a distortion about two or three centimeters in diameter in the center.

Dr. Kohn has initiated the development of software that lets an AMD patient, using a mouse, pull the virtual lines until he or she perceives the grid as “perfect,” yielding reversal of the specific distortion a person experiences. Dr. Kohn then uses these results to create a correction for that patient. In one experimental device, a handheld computer scans the printed page, using software to perform dynamic compensation, distorting the text to make it readable for patients. In addition, Dr. Kohn uses of a slab of optical material to fabricate the visual correction so that AMD patients could hold the optical slab of refractive material over text, pictures or reading material, just like the magnifying glass people use for seeing small type—only the surface of Kohn’s slab resembles ocean currents or waves that reverse the distortion. “These are very exciting ideas and offer promise to help us deal with the visual distortion caused by macular degeneration,” offered Dr. Michelson.

If you or someone you know has a question or would like to learn more optical physics, age related macular degeneration or AMD or need to schedule and eye exam for AMD, please feel free to call Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye & Cataract Center or facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.

Michelson Laser Vision and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center are leading eye care centers in Birmingham staffed by a team of specialists including eye doctors who are fellowship trained cornea specialists and cataract and lens implant specialists-all board certified Ophthalmologists & Corneal Specialists-as well as Optometrists, Opticians, technical and administrative staff who provide eye examinations for adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser eye surgery such as LASIK for laser vision correction, diagnosis and treatment of cornea disease including cornea transplants, care for diseases of the retina including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and fitting of eyeglasses and eyewear.

Michelson Laser Vision are leading Birmingham eye care practices with offices at 327 Summit Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35243, and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, 1201 11th Avenue S., Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205.

Smoking Can Increase Cataract Risk

Birmingham Alabama Cataract Surgeon Marc Michelson, M.D. reviewed findings that patients who are current smokers or who have any history of smoking are at increased risk of getting a cataract. “According to researchers reporting in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science the current literature suggests that smoking was associated with increased risk of age related cataract, especially nuclear cataract and to some extent posterior subcapsular cataract,” explained Dr. Michelson of Alabama Eye & Cataract Center. “While we need further studies and confirmation of the biological mechanism of why this occurs patients who are smokers should consider quitting and those who are not should avoid smoking. A healthy lifestyle and diet are meaningful ways of maintaining eye health and vision-whether lowering your risk of cataracts, keeping the tiny blood vessels in the eye functioning properly or minimizing the associated risks of glaucoma-it’s important to avoid smoking as a lifestyle choice,” stressed Dr. Michelson.

Dr. Michelson further explained, “Most patients I speak to today are well aware of the vascular risks of smoking. We know that smokers are also at increased risk of glaucoma and age related macular degeneration. What may be news is that smoking increases your risk of cataracts.”

If you or someone you know feels they are at risk for cataract development, has a question about cataracts, cataract surgery or lens implants please feel free to schedule an eye exam by calling

Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visiting Alabama Eye & Cataract Center or facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.

Michelson Laser Vision are leading Birmingham eye care practices with offices at 327 Summit Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35243, and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, 1201 11th Avenue S., Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205.